The Unsung
by Winter's Sentinel
Summary: Behind every great hero, every brilliant scientist, every courageous hero, there are a few that kept them going. That gave them hope, and love, and friendship. This is the story of the people that kept the heroes of the Old Republic fighting for what they believed in, no matter the cost, no matter the odds. Warning: Graphic descriptions of violence and language.


**Well, well, here I am, taking my first steps into the Star Wars fandom. Great to be here. So, some background knowledge about this story. This features characters from a series I have on Fictionpress that I'm calling "July Crisis" (read it, and it makes sense), and is what I was planning for the third story, but decided to remove from the series. I thought I'd write it anyways, though, and post it here. And it's my birthday, so I'm giving you guys a present.**

**Enjoy the story, and please review!**

**-Winter**

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"One vision can have many interpretations." – Unknown

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_**Chapter I – Horrors of the Night**_

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_She was back aboard the Fortitude. The durasteel pipe she was holding slid from her grasp as she looked at what she had just done. The man's skull had simply caved in; just a whack on the head, not even that hard, and his brain was crushed._

_She stood there, looking at the mangled body, horrified. The man – who was now lying on the ground – began to move again. His body stood up, and he turned to face her with cold, dead eyes, blood seeping down around his neck and into his uniform._

"_Murderer," he whispered. _Murderer. _The word echoed in her head a hundred times, and then a hundred times more. And suddenly there were a thousand of the man, all just like him. They raised a hand and extended a single finger towards her, all in sync._

"_Murderer," They whispered. They repeated the word, their voices growing in volume. The men stepped towards her, reaching out to grab her as they chanted. She tried to back up, but she was rooted to the ground. She looked down, and was shocked to see something swirling up her legs. It was like a black smoke, but it was…alive. It climbed her body, going above and underneath her clothes. _

_The thing pulled her to the ground as it reached her face. She titled her head back, gasping for air, but it was too late. The thing covered her face, and she felt her eyes flash as the men chanted._

_Murderer!_

_Murderer!_

_Murderer!_

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Nadia's eyes snapped open, and flew around the room, searching for some indication of where she was. Then she remembered; she was on the _Redemption_, the ship owned by the Barsen'thor. She put a hand to her forehead, and it came away sweaty. She kicked the sheets away and wrapped her arms around her knees.

She looked around for a clock, and leaned against the wall when she saw the time. Five minutes past midnight, shipboard time. She'd been asleep for barely two hours. She knew that going to sleep now wasn't an option; the last time she had a nightmare like that, it had been nearly an hour before she had been able to go back to sleep.

She resolved to take a walk around the ship, to stretch her legs and tire herself out. She slipped into a jacket the Barsen'thor had given her; he said it had been a gift for a friend, but he had never gotten the chance to give it to her. It was an odd display of kindness, and totally unexpected, especially since Nadia had known the man for barely eight hours.

She scooped up her datapad on her way out, and pulled up the map of the ship the Barsen'thor had sent to every delegate of the Rift Alliance. It was shaped like an old atmospheric fighter, but other than that, the _Redemption _looked nothing like the kings of the sky from ages past.

The ship was all smooth, flowing lines and elegant curves. Jagged edges and sharp corners were nowhere to be found. Even the outside attachments were elegantly designed. Nadia found it hard to believe that the ship held enough power to outrun, outmaneuver, and outgun any other personal ship, freighter, starfighter, and transport. Of course, it was entirely experimental.

Looking down at her map only occasionally, Nadia wandered around the ship's hallways. She was walking down the hallway in the direction of the cockpit when the door of the cockpit slid open, and a man stuck his head out. Nadia recognized him as the Barsen'thor himself, their savior and owner of the ship.

"Oh, hey," he said, giving a short wave. He walked out of the room and leaned on the wall, his arms crossed." What are you doing up?"

"Nothing special," Nadia replied." I had a bad dream and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I'd walk around."

"It was about what happened on the _Fortitude_, wasn't it?" he guessed, then chuckled at her mystified expression." I've been in this business for a long time, kiddo. I've seen more than my fair share of good people die, and I've killed more than my fair share." He shook his head, momentarily." But enough bad dreams for one night. Come on in to the cockpit."

The cockpit wasn't cramped, but it was not a small room, either. There was a digital map of the galaxy projected on to the ceiling above the window, which wrapped around the room in a half-oval curve. A bank of screens and controls followed the curve of the window, with apparently half a dozen different areas.

"This stuff is incredible," Nadia whispered, running her hands over one of the screens.

"Well, this is a prototype ship. I was lucky; the Federation decided that I needed it more in an unfamiliar galaxy, so I got the first one to be made. Just one of this class takes nearly a decade to make." Nadia looked out the window at the strange scenery as he explained some of the history of the ship. The Barsen'thor stood next to her, looking out at the strange realm that seemed just a hairsbreadth away.

"We call it altspace," he explained." No one really knows what it is. When you pass through a wormhole, this is where you end up. And when you pass through a wormhole here, you end up in our world."

"How long have you known about this?"

"Me? About one year. I was asleep for nearly eighty years of technological advancement." Nadia looked up at him, puzzled." It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Alright, Master Jedi, but you're telling me one of these days," Nadia said, shrugging.

"Oh, dear Lord, not you, too," the Barsen'thor groaned, falling back into one of the chairs. It slid along its track several feet before coming to a rest.

"Well, what am I supposed to call you? I don't know your name!"

"It's Alex. Next time, just ask for my name, alright? I've got so many titles and I hate each and every time someone has to mention one." Nadia glanced up at the clock, and nearly gasped. It had been nearly an hour and a half since she woken. Alex looked up as well, and practically leapt out of his chair.

"Time for you to go to bed, kiddo," Alex said, holding out his hand as Nadia yawned loudly. She – unsuccessfully – tried to hide it." Come on, kid. It's late."

"I'm not a kid! I'm twenty-two!"

"And I'm twenty-seven-and-a-half, now seriously, you need your sleep. We'll get to Balmorra in about four hours, and there's a lot of work to be done." Nadia rolled her eyes and complied with a "Yes, mom."

Alex chuckled as he held the door, and then followed Nadia out. She didn't even make it halfway back to her room. She practically fell onto Alex, who caught her and swiftly picked her up in a bridal carry. Nadia was asleep when Alex reached her room, and he gingerly laid her in her bed. He removed her jacket, being careful so as not to wake her, and placed it on the dresser.

Alex pulled the blankets over Nadia, and stood there, looking at her for a moment. Her chest rose and fell slowly with her breath, and the corners of her lips were turned up in a small smile. He briefly wondered what she was dreaming about; it definitely wasn't the events earlier in the day.

He smiled as she yawned and rolled over so she was facing the wall. She was cute she yawned. The simple act was enough to tug at his old, battle scarred heartstrings. He stood up, and momentarily gave the young Sarkhai a pat on the arm, and then left the room to hunt down his own bed. He put in a last request with his A.I. to play some classical music for an hour in Nadia's room (he'd found that it helped with nightmares) before turning in, himself.

In the morning, he had a planet to liberate.

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**Well, thank you for reading. I know that I have taken some liberties (and I shall take quite a few before this story is done), but it's a side effect of my bad planning when it comes to canon information. Please review! I could use all the help I could get, but please remain constructive.**

**Disclaimer - All non-canon characters, technology, and worlds are mine, as is some of the plot Everything else belongs to Bioware.**


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